The power of cultural exchange lies not only in the appreciation of our individual traditions but also in the collective recognition of these universal values.

At our recent cuppa gathering participants were invited to bring artefacts representing their cultures, leading to an awesome exchange of stories, traditions, and perspectives. As these artefacts were shared, connections were forged, and we witnessed the emergence of cultural values not only in the narratives but also in the way we connected, related, and understood one another. 

Our backgrounds, spanning NZ Rugby, Psychology, Systemic Change, Social Equity, and culture-centred design, mixed with our represented cultures made up of Muslim/Hindi, Hawaiian/Rarotongan, Greek, Australian European, and Māori/Pākehā cultures led to some cool points and reflections as values that emerged from our time together: 

• Mateship: "Instead of holding mateship as something that occurs in one culture with one's friends, it becomes something that can and should be shared across cultures and genders."

• Lattimore: "It's a non-translatable Greek word. But at its core, I describe it as extraordinary care and kindness for another. And it feels like a warm embrace of acceptance and compassion. And it's a philosophy that has been around since democracy started." 

• Connection and unity: "Can we do more to connect humanity rather than living in this divide that we're experiencing at the moment? It’s due to all sorts of political, ideological, and other reasons that are causing increasing divisions. But can we do more to connect?"

• Cultivation and navigation: "It's interesting to say that because cultivation is a useful theme... There are other themes as well that help people understand."

• Creating space for new ideas: "But it made me think about when we're making changes sometimes. Yeah, we have to move something aside. That's everywhere. And we see it as what you know, the coconut tree sustains everything on the islands, but to bring something new, and let some of the other voices come through, you need to make space for other things to grow. And that may mean moving aside some of the old and reliable things that we 've taken for granted."

• Safe spaces: "So many meetings are very goal-oriented where you take notes and work in a different kind of way. It's really nice to come to something where there's quite a safe space created. I've popped up after a few weeks and yeah, this feels like a safe space which is just refreshing."

• Combining old concepts with new directions: "How do we take some of these old concepts that still have a foundation and combine them with the new direction?

• Culture-centred design and diverse insights: "I like this notion of culture-centred design. Yes, it talks a lot about humans and it’s also where you hear different people's insights. Because there are so many people from different cultures, we all come to hear and know about many insights from different cultures. Because we know our own culture well, to hear someone else's views is a way to hear many different kinds of applications. Maybe it’s with the work you are doing or outside of work, but I find that kind of sharing is really great."

• Preserving Culture: "The language I've just been hearing about cultivation, navigation, healing, things like that, say a whole lot about ways of not only preserving culture but of sharing it. And the more we use different ways of sharing it, the more I think we can bring people together." 

• Relatable Language: "I think systems change work can all start being a bit abstract. If you're in it all the time and talking to someone else, it’s possible they’ve got no idea what you're talking about. But if you can create analogies about cultivation, planting or navigating, and other sorts of analogies, it will help people to better understand. And of course, all of our cultures would use stories to do this as well. And they’ve often touched on these same themes of cultivation, navigation, and other kinds of things, and yeah, and I love that."

The power of cultural exchange lies not only in the appreciation of our individual traditions but also in the collective recognition of these universal values. We hope this glimpse into our vibrant gathering inspires you to celebrate the richness of your own culture and embrace the diverse perspectives that surround and can nourish it. 

Mauriora, 
The Walk Together Team